Cemetaries and Blackberries
by maxandkiz
Summary: A walk through a cemetary leads to Sammy asking Pastor Jim some tough questions.


Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

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"Can we go get Dean now?" Sammy asked Pastor Jim as they washed the lunch dishes.

Pastor Jim sighed. Sammy had been asking the same question for the past two hours and it was beginning to get on Jim's nerves. "No, Sammy. We still have a couple of hours before school gets out for the day." he replied. Seeing Sammy's downcast expression Jim added, "I have an errand to run and then I thought we'd go pick some blackberries. If we find enough, I can make a cobbler for supper. Would you like that?"

"Yea! Blackberries!" Sammy shouted as he danced around the kitchen. "Can we go now? Please? Please? Please? Can we? Huh? Huh?"

"Not yet. Come help me with the dishes and then we'll go." Pastor Jim said laughing as Sammy raced over to the sink cheering.

Thirty minutes later Pastor Jim picked up the vase of flowers from the hall table and stepped out the door with Sammy in tow. They grabbed their pails and headed to the small cemetery beside the church. "Pastor Jim, why are you taking flowers to pick blackberries?" Sammy questioned.

"The flowers are for my mother, Sammy. Today is her birthday, and she always loved flowers." Jim informed him. "So I'm going to place them on her grave before we go pick the blackberries."

"People still have birthdays when they're dead?" Sammy asked staring at Jim in amazement.

"Yes, I guess they do. We just don't celebrate it with a party or anything like that." Jim replied as they walked through the gate of the cemetery.

Sammy glanced at all the different tombstones they passed. Coming to a tall thin monument he stopped gazing up at it thoughtfully for several minutes. "Pastor Jim, who's this one?" he finally asked.

Walking over Jim read the inscription, "It says Norton Garrett."

"Why did they bury him standing up?" Sammy questioned as he continued to stare at the monument.

"Standing up? What do you. . .?" the pastor's words trailed off as Sammy's logic hit him. Throwing a hand over his mouth to stop the laughter at the image that came to mind, Jim took a moment to compose himself and then answered. "Sammy, he's not buried in the monument. It's just a different kind of headstone."

"Oh. But why did they get him a big one?" Sammy asked.

"I don't know. Maybe his family thought he deserved a headstone that was bigger than anyone else. Now come along. My mother is right over there." Jim replied pulling Sammy away from the monument. They went two rows over and came to a stop in front of a heart-shaped marker. Bending down Jim carefully set the vase on the grave and arranged the flowers. "Happy birthday, mom." He whispered as he stood up.

Sammy stood silently watching his friend. Looking at the headstone Sammy wondered about Jim's mother and the rest of the people in the graveyard. He tried to ignore all the questions floating around in his mind but his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help asking. "Pastor Jim, where is your mama now?"

Smiling down at Sam Jim said, "She's in Heaven, Sammy."

"How did she get to Heaven? Did she ride a unicorn all the way up there?" Sammy quizzed pointing at the sky.

Wondering where the youngest Winchester got his ideas sometimes, Jim replied, "No, Sammy. She didn't ride a unicorn or a horse or any other animal. God reached down and brought her to Heaven."

"_Man, he must have really long arms."_ Sammy thought. Talking about Pastor Jim's mother made him think about his own mom. Plucking up his courage the youngest Winchester asked, "What about my mommy? Is she in Heaven, too?"

"Of course she is. I bet your mother and mine are friends just like we are." Jim suggested.

"Really?" Sammy gasped. When the pastor nodded his head, Sammy grinned. He liked the idea of his mommy having a friend. Another thought popped into his head and his grin became even bigger. "Is it okay if I go to Heaven to see them? I promise I won't stay long." He hollered excitedly.

"I'm afraid not, Sammy." Jim responded. "You see, you can't just go to Heaven."

"But I'll come right back. Please?" Sammy begged turning on his puppy dog expression that always got him his way.

"You don't understand. You can't go to Heaven to visit. When you go, you have to stay." Pastor Jim explained.

Sammy's lower lip trembled as he heard the pastor's statement. "But why?" he asked kicking at the ground. "I just wanted to see my mommy." He whispered.

Jim's heart broke for the little boy in front of him. He leaned over and scooped Sammy up. Cradling him close Jim attempted to repair the damage he had done. "I know you do, Sammy. I know you do. And I wish you could." He said as he headed out of the cemetery. "You know, I can't take you to your mom but I can tell you about her. Would you like that?" Feeling Sammy's nod Jim continued, "How about I tell you what I know about your mama while we pick those berries?"

"Okay" Sammy breathed out. He stayed wrapped in Jim's arms until they made it to the blackberry patch. Wiping his eyes, Sammy wiggled his way out of the pastor's arms. He sat in the middle of the patch and listened as Jim recounted all he'd heard about his mom. Sammy closed his eyes and attempted to picture his family together and happy. He began to grin as an image of a smiling Dean and his daddy came to mind. He liked it when they were happy. Noticing that Jim was no longer talking, Sammy opened his eyes to find the pastor staring at him. "I miss her." He simply stated.

"I know. But you're a lucky little boy because you have your daddy and Dean who love you very much. And you also have Uncle Bobby, Caleb, and me. That's a bigger family then a lot of children have." Pastor Jim reminded him before smiling. "Now are you planning on picking berries or are you going to make me do all the hard work?"

Sammy laughed and quickly started snatching berries off the vines, eating more than he put in the pail. After a few quiet minutes of picking he walked over to his friend and tugged on Jim's pants leg. "Pastor Jim, I've got one more question." He said as he threw another berry in his almost empty pail.

Jim stifled a groan. He knew Sammy had let him off too easy. "What is it, Sammy?" he inquired hoping he wasn't in for another round of why questions.

"Can we go get Dean now?" Sammy asked smirking.

The End


End file.
